Medicinal plants used to treat infectious diseases in the central part and a northern district of Bangladesh - an ethnopharmacological perception

Introduction

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become more challenging to the treatment of infectious diseases. Easy access to antibiotics, self-medication and irrational uses of antibiotics have made this problem even worse in the developing countries like Bangladesh. However, the indigenous people of Bangladesh have been using traditional Ayurvedic medicine for centuries for the treatment of infections. The aim of study was to document the medicinal plants that are being traditionally used for the treatment of various types of infections in the central part and a northern district of Bangladesh through an ethnopharmacological survey.

Materials and methods

This survey involved interviewing 127 respondents including Ayurvedic and Unani practitioners (55.9%), patients (16.5%) and local inhabitants (27.6%) to generate data that were analysed in the context of quantitave indices including Use Value, Informant Consensus Factor, Fidelity Level and Rank Order Priority.

Results

The respondents recommended 71 medicinal plants belonging to 44 families that were used in this region for the treatment of various infections. The most cited plant families were Lamiaceae (26 citations), Meliaceae (23 citations) and Leguminasae (22 citations) whilst the most cited plant species wereAzadirachta indica A. Juss. (23 citations) and Ocimum tenuflorum L. (18 citations). Leaf was the most frequently used plant part in preparation. Plant species were documented based on rarity score, where 8.3% species were found to be very rare. Most common method of preparation was power form (39 reports) followed by decoction. Bacterial pneumonia was recorded as highest FIC value with 0.94 with 19 use plants reported for 2 plant species.

Conclusion

The present findings are encouraging to look into traditionally used plants to explore compounds which are responsible for anti-intective properties.